Not Just AnotherDay Trip To Paradise
by TNpantherwoman1
Summary: Jane and Maura take a trip to confront Pa Rizzoli. A stop for refreshment turns the day in a whole different direction. One neither woman saw coming.
1. Chapter 1

Not Just Another Day Trip (To Paradise)

**A/N I'm not sure what happened, but I couldn't sign in with my regular writing name (Pantherwoman). Yes I tried re-setting it several times. Finally gave up and just signed in with my Twitter name. **

**For those of you who left comments on my other stories. Thank you! I wanted to respond to them, but couldn't access my account. So, here we go anew.**

**This story begins two days after Frank asked Angela to sign the annulment papers. Needless to say, Jane isn't too happy with Pa Rizzoli right now. She decides to confront him, but a little thing called "life" gets in the way. I hope you will take this journey with me. And I truly hope you enjoy the ride.**

Maura nervously chewed her bottom lip destroying the most recent application of Purrfect Pink Kashmere lip color. At this rate she would finish the $100 tube by midnight. She drew in a deep bracing breath, it was time to anger the Rizzoli, Detective Jane Rizzoli of the Boston Homicide Department. Maura took another deep breath. Her words couldn't climb past a huge lump somewhere between her mouth and her heart.

What in hell was Maura doing? At the rate she was heaving and blowing she would be unconscious in less than a minute. They had gotten a late start as it was, and she didn't have time for an episode of Hyperventilation with Jane and Maura. Plus she didn't have a paper bag in the car. "If you have something to say Maura, just spit it out for piss sakes." Jane admonished as gently as she could. It was a mammoth task resisting the urge to yell, but she did it. It wasn't Maura's fault they were driving to the middle of BFE.

The soft spoken encouragement was the last thing Maura had expected. She let out the breath in a harsh whoosh and managed to take a hard bite out of her tender lower lip. "Jane, do you really think we should be making this trip?" There it was out. She said it.

Without taking her eyes off the road, Jane answered. "No Maura. I just really felt like waking up at the butt crack of dawn and taking a six hour drive out into the boondocks for the hell of it."

Anger, yes; but no yelling. "I know your entire family is reeling from this …awful news, but confronting him isn't going to change his mind."

"I don't give a damn about changing his mind. He has a lot to answer for, he owes us all one hell of an explanation. Not to mention he shattered Ma into a gazillion pieces and just walked away without a word. I understand couples breaking up and getting a divorce, but you don't eviscerate your ex just because you fucking feel like it. He may be a chicken shit when it comes to Ma, Frankie and Tommy. But he isn't going to get away with this crap around me. How dare he parade his new young floozy in her face? How dare he ask her for an annulment? But most of all, how dare he make up lies about her and tell his outrageous stories to anyone in the old neighborhood willing to listen? Women she considered friends are calling her up telling her all kinds of lies they heard him tell on her. Maura, you know Ma. Family is her reason for living. She never deserted or neglected her family, she never did anything without thinking about us first. He's even telling people that Tommy got into trouble because she wasn't the proper Mother he needed. Can you believe that shit? Tommy made his own choices. His troubles had nothing to do with Ma."

Maura saw the steam rising from her friend's entire body. She needed to get Jane's mind off the return of Pa Rizzoli. To say his return had stunned the entire family was a gross understatement. She knew Jane was justified in feeling angry on behalf of herself and her entire family. And yes, Tommy had made his own life choices and mistakes. Angela Rizzoli was not to blame for her youngest son's bouts of mischief and law breaking. Frank Rizzoli coming back to Boston had upset a lot of dynamics. Not only that, it had severely changed the relationship she and Jane had been enjoying. "Anyone with any knowledge of Angela Rizzoli knows those are just malicious lies in a desperate bid for an annulment."

"We'll see how desperately he wants his precious annulment when I stick my foot up his ass and it comes out his mouth!" Jane snapped making a sharp left turn. "I need a soda,"

The threat of physical violence stunned and saddened Maura. There was a change happening in Jane; one she didn't want to witness. "I could use something too."

Jane slowed and pulled into the parking lot of a small convenience store. She kept her hands on the steering wheel until her emotions were under control. She knew Maura was worried about her. She also knew Maura worried about their relationship. Jane wanted to pull Maura close and tell her everything was going to be all right. That they were all right. But a small part of her kept asking "Was everything really all right?" She still loved Maura with all her heart and would give up her life in a second for the gorgeous blonde. But the shit with Pa was making her question everything she had ever known or thought she had known about relationships. Jane took a slow deep breath and released the wheel.

"I'll meet you inside." Maura said seconds before trembling hands tangled in her hair dragging her forward before she could leave the car.

"I want…" Jane couldn't finish the sentence. She angled Maura's chin allowing her lips easy access to the recently chewed pink flesh. Jane heard a soft moan but couldn't tell if it came from her or Maura. She just wanted to stay in this moment for the rest of eternity.

"Me too!" Maura screamed silently. "I want you too." She held onto the slender yet strong forearms pushing her into the plush Mercedes seat. God how she had missed the touch, taste and feel of Jane Rizzoli.

Much too soon Jane was releasing her and pulling away. "I'm sorry, Maura. I didn't mean to attack you like a …"

Maura slipped a long dark lock of hair behind Jane's ear. She gave a saucy wink and assured. "It's OK. I like it rough."

Laughter built from her toes and bubbled happily through her entire body. Thankfully her shitty moods swings and bad manners hadn't chased her Maura away. Jane captured Maura's palm and planted a warm kiss in the center. "Me too." Jane winked and let go of Maura's hand to open the door.

A pair of middle aged construction workers were standing next to a white pick up staring. "It's 2012 and you're in MA, get used to it or move to freaking TX!" Jane yelled making sure the badge on her belt was clearly visible.

"Jane, please." Maura hissed through clenched teeth. She liked it rough in the bedroom, not in the middle of cracked asphalt pavement brawling with a pair of homophobic cavemen.

"Please what?" Jane exploded. "You sit and chew your lips off wondering if we're over, then when I try to show you we aren't you don't want… Just fucking forget it. I knew this was a bad idea asking you to come with me today. I'm going to call Frankie to come bring my car, then the two of you can ride back to Boston in civilized conversation while I go kick some sense into Frank Rizzoli's ass."

Maura watched Jane stomp into the store. She rubbed her forehead then turned to the still staring men. "Show's over boys, run along." She grabbed her purse and made her way to the unisex restroom tears stinging her eyes.

"Frankie, Tommy lunch is getting cold. Will one of you go into the garage and tell Janie to come wash up." Angela Rizzoli set the last plate in place on it's pristine mat and allowed a small smile to touch her eyes. She was the loving Mother to three wonderful children, she had a job she loved and was good at doing, she lived in a beautiful guest house with an amazing young woman…. She let the thought slide away. She wasn't quite ready to make that connection yet. Baby steps. All would work out in good time.

The two brothers looked from each other to their waiting mother. Tommy gave a small nod and took a step toward his Mother. "Ma, Janie isn't in the garage."

A frown creased Angela's brow as she straightened the silverware near her anxious fingers. "Did she get called in to work? I didn't hear the phone."

"No Ma. She didn't get called to work. She went over to Maura's this morning. They were going to…"

"Take a drive out into the country." Tommy finished. He felt as guilty as his brother that Jane was going to confront their Father. It should have been him and Frankie, not Jane.

For a long minute Mama Rizzoli stood looking at her sons. She gave a tired shrug and sank into a chair. "I know this is hard on you kids too." She said tears starting to fall.

Both Frankie and Tommy threw their arms around her shaking shoulders. "Ma. none of this is your fault." Frankie assured rubbing small circles on her back. "Let's just eat this beautiful lunch and then we'll go out for dessert."

"My treat." Tommy offered. He had just been hired to deliver flowers for a local florist. Maybe he could get them to go for ice cream at Vinnie's instead of a higher priced treat at one of the sit down joints in town.

Angela pulled out of the warm embraces of her sons and dried her face. They really were great boys. "That sounds like a great idea. Frankie will you cut the lasagna while Tommy opens the wine?" Her husband might have turned out to be a son of a bitch but her sons were good boys!

"Hey Old Timer, did you hear that last call?" Detective Barry Frost asked as he plopped into the chair opposite Vince Korsak's desk.

"Old Timer? I can still kick your scrawny butt any day of the week, you young pup. Of course, I heard it. I aint deaf." Korsak mock growled. He really liked the young detective, but he loved giving him a hard time. It had taken a long time for him to accept that Jane preferred Frost as a partner to him, but he had finally made peace with it and the three of them worked well together.

"Jane is going to be sorry she missed this party." Frost predicted slipping his gun in it's holster and his badge on his belt.

"I just pray we don't have to call in favors to get her out of lock up. If Frank Rizzoli gives her a reason she will kick his butt into the middle of next year.

Frost handily caught the keys tossed to him and gave another blinding smile. "That's one fight I would like to see." He unlocked the unmarked and slid into the seat. Once Korsak was buckled into the passenger seat, he backed out of the garage and headed for the scene of a quadruple murder. "If my Father told my Mother he wanted an annulment after thirty some years of marriage, she would make that Lorena chick look like a saint.

"That's a bad business, I tell ya. No real man would ever throw away his family for a young piece of tail. Makes me sick." Korsak spat.

"Listen man, I say this with all sincerity. We all thought you and Mama R were going to hook up…I mean start dating." If his skin had been just a shade lighter, Frost would have turned red. As it was he became a mottled off-purple.

Korsak decided not to bust the kids balls. He knew no disrespect was intended. "We did go on a couple of dates. Angela is an amazing woman, but between us we got enough baggage to fill an entire 747 cargo area. But if she needs me, I'm there."

"So you did go out. Does Jane know?" Frost asked reaching for the radio to verify the address.

"No and she doesn't need to. Understand?"

Frost looked at the icy grey eyes glaring at him and decided to be smart and not a smart ass. "Totally agree. Totally." Jane Rizzoli would go ballistic if she thought someone was taking advantage of her Mother. Even an ex-partner.

Maura completed drying her hands under the deafening automatic dryer and then washed her face in the small bathroom deciding she too needed a drink. She took a long look at the haunted face of the woman staring back at her. Jane was right, of course. She had been wondering if they were over. With every fiber of her being she had been searching for some sign from Jane that they were OK. That nothing between them had changed. Then the stupid stares from a couple of disapproving men had sent her scurrying into the shadows away from her… lover, partner, friend-with-amazing-benefits? No wonder confused teens committed suicide when confronted with questions of self and sexuality. She was a well educated, professional with an excellent reputation in the professional community as well as the community at large and yet she struggled with … everything just like any other confused person in a new and scary situation. Welcome to the world Dr. Maura Isles of Beacon Hill. Yes, she was in need of a drink. A stiff cocktail would be preferable, but a soft drink would have to do until she got home. She stepped out of the bathroom into a scene from hell, or some low budget horror movie.

"Hands in the air Bitch!" snarled a huge bald man holding a kitchen cleaver dripping with blood, hair and what looked like brain matter.

A scream of pure terror ripped from Maura as she took in the full scene before her. The teen cashier lay slumped over the register blood pouring from a head wound. A petite brunette lay in a pool of blood at the base of the beer cooler. Two other teens were bound and gagged and held at gunpoint by three men in greasy coveralls. But it was the other two occupants holding her gaze and trapping the breath in her burning lungs. Her beloved Jane had been attacked and now stood with her hands in the air, blood pouring from her nose and mouth glaring at a giant who held her own service revolver as well a .44 Magnum pointed at her heart.

**A/N Please take a minute to let me know what you think! I appreciate all comments/reviews.**


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

**A/N For those of you who still give a rats about Pa Rizzoli, I'm going to make him even more disgusting. Tommy's going to become very useful in this story. He is going to be using his past acquaintances to help his entire family. And because I love Rondo, he's going to make an appearance too.**

Frost pulled along side a marked cruiser and cut the engine. From the view here on the street two of the four victims were clearly visible. A familiar voice called to him as he opened the car door. "Why is Vanilla spending the afternoon at the station house instead of doing her thang here at the scene of the crime?"

"Detective Rizzoli's off today Rondo." Korsak informed not unkindly. He didn't think Rondo as valuable as Frost and Jane boasted, but he knew the man had value as a human being and as an informant.

"This here is where she shines like a diamond in a ray of sunshine. What will she think about missing the first dance?" Rondo gave a tight smile and disappeared into the crowd. He didn't mind talking to Frost, but Korsak was old school and kept his radar on high alert. Rondo felt Korsak wasn't totally on his side. He would find Jane later and chat.

"He's right you know. Jane will be pissed not being in on the action." Frost set a quick pace toward the bodies. The sooner he saw them, the sooner they could be on their way to the morgue and out of his sight.

Korsak kept stride with the younger man. He fingered his goatee and gathered his bravado. He was getting too damned old for quadruple homicides. "I think Jane has enough on her plate. Man, I hope she doesn't get physical on her Old Man. If we have to intervene, Matthews will be pissed."

Detective Frost couldn't comment because he was at that very moment losing his breakfast all over his favorite D&G shoes. He bent almost double and drew in shallow ragged breaths. How could human beings treat each other so savagely? The victim nearest the road had twin holes punched through her chest. She lay in a pool of blood. About two foot from her outstretched right hand lay a second woman. This body only bore evidence of one gunshot, but it had been powerful enough to obliterate more than half her face. Part of a bloody jawbone lay touching the tip of his left shoe.

"Fucking animals." Korsak whispered. He was about to join Frost and toss his own breakfast. "What the hell did the bastards use? Rocket launchers." He looked from one body to the other and felt his blood both boil and freeze. These bastards had some firepower and were not afraid to use it.

"This is some kind of fucked up. Man, I hope the other two are in better shape. I'm too fucking skinny now. All this puking is making me lose my physique. Women don't like skinny fellas. They want big hulky manly men."

"Must be why I been married three times. I always wondered what women saw in me. Now I know it's my hulking physique."

"Fuck you." Frost croaked as he straightened and walked closer to the open motel door.

Korsak slapped him on the back and entered the blood soaked room first. Captain Matthews saw him and made a bee line toward him. "Where the hell is Rizzoli?"

"She's off today, Cap." Frost said looking at the bloody carpet. He would give his left nut to be off today instead of Rizzoli. Hell he would even trade his controlling father for Rizzoli's… naw, she could keep her annulment seeking sperm donor.

"I know that. I gave her the day off to go chew off her Old Man's ass. We've called in everyone. Everyone except Jane Rizzoli."

Frost darted a tentative look around the room and spotted Frankie taking notes from a woman he took to be the motel manager. "Is Jane not answering her cell?"

Matthews ran an hand over his sweating forehead and wiped it on his pants leg. "I've left a dozen messages. Frankie called and left a message, her Ma's left a message and even Tommy has tried. I got the switchboard trying every five minutes."

"What about Doctor Isles. She went with Jane." Korsak supplied.

"Doctor Isles isn't answering either. Both of you, get busy on this fucking blood bath and while you're at it, get Rizzoli in here." Matthews gave a final look at the bloody room then stormed out.

Frost pulled out his phone first and made a call to Jane's cell. It went straight to voice mail. He tried Maura with the same result. Korask tried and got similar results. "Is Tommy working today?" Frost asked after trying Jane's home number.

"Why you asking me? Go ask Frankie. I don't keep up with the Rizzoli clan day to day agendas."

Instead, Frost called Maura's guesthouse and got Ma Rizzoli. He spent a couple minutes chatting with her, then waved Frankie over.

"Let me get this straight." Frankie eyed Frost like a dog guarding a juicy bone. "You want me to loan my truck to Tommy and turn him loose on the trail of Jane and Maura?"

"Babe, I'm glad you called. I miss you sooooo much." Frank cooed into the phone.

"Cut the shit Frank it's Angela."

His ardor instant turned from wine to vinegar. "Have you come to your sense and signed the papers?"

"Fuck you and your papers. Is Jane there?"

"Janie? Why would Janie be here?"

"She and Dr. Isles were coming to see you this morning. Are you sure they haven't been there?"

"Why would I lie about them driving all the way up here? And speaking of that, how do you know where I am? How did you get this number? This cabin is on private property."

"News flash, Frank. No one gives a shit about you and your latest whore. I am concerned about my daughter."

"Jane is our daughter, Angela. And she's a big girl. Jane can take care of herself."

"If she comes up there, tell her Captain Matthews would like her to call him immediately."

"I'm not your damned messenger service Angela. Why is Jane coming up here?"

"Just tell her to call the station, Frank. Good bye."

"Why don't you tell her to mind her own business. Is her female lover with her?"

"Frank, don't be a dick. Mind your own business. What Jane and Maura have is their business."

"So everyone in the world is entitled to be happy except me, is that it? Two dykes can shack up together, but a man can't find true love after living with a shrew for thirty years."

"A shrew? You are the poorest excuse for a man Frank Rizzoli. I hope Jane does kick your ass into next year. I didn't want her to lay a finger on you, but now I hope she…God help me not turn into a horrible person over this mess. Good bye Frank."

"Don't ask for miracles Angela. It's too late for that particular one anyway. I should have left you years ago. You have filled my life with nothing but misery!" He jumped when the front door opened and closed. "That bitch ruined my life."

Maura gathered her composure and moved on trembling legs to stand next to the two other terrified women. She prayed that Jane would surrender without a further fight. Whatever they had stumbled into, wasn't worth dying.

"Nice rack on this one. Ya'll take a look." The bald giant waved a hand in front of Maura's breasts.

"Don't you fucking touch her!" Jane snarled taking a step forward.

"Looks like we got us another would be hero here boys." Two guns chuckled. "Tell me, tough girl, is she your girlfriend or your Girlfriend?"

"Either one will get you killed if you so much as…"

The two girls beside Maura screamed with her as the youngest man in coveralls stepped toward Jane and smashed his fist into her solar plexus. He laughed as Jane collapsed wheezing to the floor. "Ya aint so tough now. You sure got a big mouth." He pulled a knife from his pocket and flipped open the gleaming blade.

"Enough Ridley. Don't damage the merchandise. Every shipment you lose us at least ten thousand dollars. It's coming out of your share." Baldie waved the knife toward the door. "We need to add these four to the cattle car and get in touch with the buyer."

The oldest man in coveralls gave Maura a detailed once over. "This is a prize bitch here boys. This fancy one will bring a pretty penny. Hell, she might even bring a hundred grand."

"Then let's get back to the ranch and get 'em fed." Like the youngest he had put away his revolver and now held a long bladed knife.

"Don't overdose the bitches like you did them others. Just give them a taste. It don't take long to develop a love for the candy."

Maura slipped her hands in her pockets and prayed no one was watching that closely. She heard them order the two girls off the floor and out the front door. If she could manage to dial Frost or Korsak they could trace the phone. She had tried calling her office from the bathroom to check in, but found there was no cell reception in the area. But the phone could be tracked by GPS just by being on.

"Would Your Highness like a red carpet to walk?" Snapped the cleaver bearing man.

Maura lifted her chin and gave him an icy glare. She was shaking in every cell, but would die before allowing this cretin to see her fear. She could be brave for Jane.

A/N So what do you think of this latest trouble Jane and Maura find themselves in?


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

**A/N It's time to learn a little more about the "nice gentlemen" who have taken Jane, Maura and the other two women.**

Buck Savage stood looking from his crew to the 4 females bound, gagged and currently taking up all available floor space in his van. If his nosy bitch of a wife found one single drop of blood on the pristine melon (pale yellow to him) carpeting or the butterscotch leather (light brown) seats he would be a dead man. Loretta had pissed and whined for a year until he bought her the van for their 18th Anniversary. The way she carried on, you would have thought he gave her a million dollar piece of jewelry.

"Something wrong Buc…something wrong?" James, the newest and youngest member of their elite crew had almost called the leader by his name. He was still a probationary member and had a long way to go to earn a permanent place in the crew.

"Too many." Buck looked at the still bleeding Jane Rizzoli. Long and lean with a still beautiful face, but lines of harshness were carving their way into her still tender flesh. Orders were pouring in, but not fast enough to keep all four of the broads. "Toss one back."

"Just like that? Hell we aint even gonna get to take her for a test drive or nuthin'?"

Buck counted to ten and tried to remember to speak on a child's level. Stupid, crude and totally backwards, but without Evan the crew didn't work. As much as it set the acid to churning in his already boiling stomach, Buck had to remain calm and placate the giant man/child.

"Evan, man we gotta get outta here. The cops could pull in here at any time." James had correctly interpreted the look on Buck's face. By being smart and keeping things on track, he would soon make himself indispensable. He would become Buck's new second-in-command. Her just had to pay attention and stay sharp at all times.

"James is right Evan. We can't afford play time just yet." Buck clapped the huge man on the shoulder and promised. "As soon as we get them settled back in the pen, you can choose your favorite and play for an hour."

"I want the pretty blonde!" Evan shouted pointing a beefy finger at one of the softly crying young women bound on the floor.

"Looks like you won't be making the trip after all. My apologies." Buck removed a syringe from his cargo pants and jabbed it in Jane's thigh.

"Is it safe to just dump the body here?" Adam Broder asked looking nervously at his brother Tyler.

"There are two dead bodies inside the dump and those two damned yokels in the parking lot. One more will not be overcrowding. Pick up her feet and help me get her out of here."

James once again eager to be useful, grasped Jane's legs and helped carry her from the van. He noticed her badge as they unceremoniously dropped her to the ground. The bitch was a cop. Was the attractive blonde a cop too? James chewed his lip and wondered if Buck had spotted the gold shield. He said a quick prayer and turned back toward the van.

"If you can't stomach putting a bitch out of her misery, you can't hang with us boy." Buck snapped and swept past him.

"Sorry, I just wanted a turn too."

Buck dropped into the leather seat that cradled his bottom like the softest down. "If you four can't turn your dicks off, I'll be more than happy to remove them for you. Get your mind on the task!" Buck slammed his seat belt into place and peeled out of the parking lot. They were so late.

Korsak pulled at his goatee and even more slowly approached Angela Rizzoli. The woman had been tossed into the fifth ring of hell, but she was doing just fine. Her bastard of a husband had asked her for an annulment and was currently parading a bimbo younger than his own children all over town. Still Angela kept her head high and her emotions under control. Now he had the sorry task of informing her that her eldest child was missing.

"Vince!" Tommy Rizzoli called hiding behind the café door. "Over here, it's Tommy."

Korsak welcomed the distraction. He changed course and stepped outside the café. "Did you hear the news?"

"Yeah, Frankie told me." Tommy gave Korsak a penetrating look then turned to watch his mother happily selling her delicious Italian treats. "Listen, I won't get in your way or nothing, I promised Frankie. But I'm taking point on this, and yes I know the entire Boston PD is looking for them. Jane is my sister and I can help."

"The Boy Scout here thinks he can find Jane before the PD does." Frankie snorted punching his younger brother on the arm.

Tommy flushed to the roots of his hair but refused to take the bait. "Detective Korsak will you keep Ma occupied for awhile?"

"If he can't Matthews can. It's like all of a sudden our Mother is…"

"Our Mother is what?" Angela snapped silently coming to a stop behind the three guilty males. "Frankie, don't you listen to that filth. Some people have nothing better to do than start hurtful rumors."

The three men glared at Angela their mouths hanging open in surprise. Korsak recovered first. "A natural born salesperson. Say, you got any of that chocolate cake left?"

"I could use a piece of that cake too, Ma." Frankie seconded.

"Do you remember when she made it for Jane's birthday that year and Dad came in and put his tool box on the kitchen table."

"Yeah," Frankie chuckled. "The cake was sitting on a huge piece of cardboard spread across the seats of two chairs. Ma saw the tool box on the table and lost it. She went flying across the room to move it and tripped over the dog."

Tommy snorted and took over the story, "She put out her hands to break the fall and landed face down in that beautiful chocolate cake. Jane came home from school and found Mom on the floor laughing hysterically and the dog licking chocolate icing off her face."

"Boy did Janie ever milk that for the longest time." Frankie sobered and looked at his no longer angry mother.

"That was kinda funny. Even though Jane cried buckets until I gave in and baked another one that very night. We are the Rizzoli's and we know how to have a good time!" She spontaneously grasped both boys by the nape of the neck and pulled them close to press a warm kiss to their foreheads. "I'll see if there's any cake left in the fridge."

"Did a celebration every go right at the Rizzoli household?" Korsak asked wiping his damp brow. They had almost been forced to tell Angela that Jane was missing.

"We'll find Jane and she and Maura will be fine." Tommy checked his watch then turned to his brother. "I gotta go. Look, don't tell Ma. Give me a chance to look for her. Please keep Ma busy. Distract her or something OK?"

"Go on, I was going to ask your Mom to have dinner with me anyway."

"Play on Playa." Frost laughed joining the group.

"Any news?" Frankie asked.

"About anything in particular? We got four DB's at that sleazy roach motel. We got a missing detective and ME, and we just got a call about 4 more bodies outside some little Podunk convenience store. So Romeo, my good man, your courting will have to wait. Capt wants us to take a drive out there and look it over."

"Does he think it's connected with the motel murders?" Frankie asked excitement dancing in his eyes.

"I never met anyone so gung ho about dead bodies as you." Frost wiped a hand over his eyes and prayed his lunch would be digested by the time they got to the scene.

"Think Matthews would mind if I rode out with you?" Frankie wondered.

"C'mon kid, let's get this cake in a take-out container and go chase that gold shield you covet." Korsak teased.

"Mother fucker!" Jane snarled curling into the fetal position and scrunching her eyes shut as tightly as they would scrunch.

"Easy Vanilla." A soothing hand rubbed her brow and then across her cheek. "What happened to that fine ME?"

"Rondo." Tears of relief flooded her eyes. She didn't know or care how her CI came to be here in this dirty cracked parking lot and she didn't care. Rondo was safety. Rondo was normalcy. Rondo was her ride home. "Help me stand please."

"Anything at all for you baby. Rondo is here and it's going to be all right."

"Will you drive? I still feel a little woozy."

Minutes or hours passed and Jane opened her eyes again. She wasn't lying on the melting pavement, nor was she in her car, or even at home. In fact, Jane had no idea where she was standing. The walls were pitch black and purple eyeballs were opening and closing all along the length. They were all watching her. One was opening it's mouth exposing row after row of jagged orange teeth. She had to find her way home before the purple eyeballs ate her.

"Jane." A flash of light seared the tender skin covering her eyes. "Wake up!"

"Just five more minutes Maura. You kept me up all night long playing comb the monkey. I can't believe you won." Jane politely applauded and confessed. "You deserved it. Your monkey was beautiful in that top hat and spit curls."

She pushed her way to a leaning stand and shook the outstretched hand of the flamingo holding her teeth. "Thank you for keeping those safe for me. Do you still have Maura's hair? She just can't leave the house if that wig isn't tightly stapled to her scalp." Jane gave a wobbly curtsy to the flamingo and accepted the matted wig the bird offered. "Much obliged. kind and gracious Sir." She allowed him to open the brass door and kick her into a ten foot high snow drift.

Maura fought tears and bile rising in her throat. As crazy as it sounded, keeping quiet was the best defense. She knew without the slightest doubt that their abductors would not hesitate to kill her and the other two young women, Lisa and Gloria.

"Keep it together girls. We are going to get through this….somehow." Maura made her voice strong and her eyes sure, but her heart sank to the depths of her being like the anchor for an ocean liner. "Keep it together Maura. Keep it together."

So what do you think about the predicaments Jane and Maura find themselves in? Are you happy to see Tommy stepping up and fighting for his family? Let me know what you think.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

**A/N OK, I'd get a couple pages in and then hate what I wrote. So, I trashed it and started over. Too many ideas spinning in my head at once. But now we are moving in a straight line and going forward again.**

"What the hell are we dealing with?" Frost asked reading an email from the Medical Examiner's office. "Pike finished the prelims on the four bodies from the motel. Wanna guess the COD?"

Korsak chuckled thinking this was the easiest question ever asked. "Let's see." He stroked his goatee while waiting for the light to turn green . "Not drowning. Suicide is out of the question. I'll take gunshot wounds for a thousand."

"Sucka!" Frost flashed a toothy smile and slapped both thighs. "That was too easy. I'm sorry to tell you, but you lose all your points and do not get to go to the bonus round."

"Very funny. OK Mr. Personality, what is the COD?"

"Cause of death is exsanguination for all four victims."

"They bled out?" Korsak questioned. "They bled out from all the gunshot wounds. I knew it."

"Incorrect. Two of the victims were missing their hearts and both lungs. One of them was missing her liver and both kidneys, and the fourth was missing her eyes, heart and liver."

"What the fuck? Some sick bastard is removing internal organs in sleazy motels and just leaving the bodies? Somebody saw and heard something!"

"According to Pike, the organs were removed with near surgical precision. The bodies appear to have been dumped at the motel after the organs were harvested."

"You thinking black market organ ring? Some crazy surgeon hacking up bodies on my streets. The per versions never end!"

Frost answered his cell and gave a sigh of relief. The four murdered victims moved to the back of his mind. Jane was safe and with her brother. "That's a blessing. Any word on Doctor Isles?"

"Tommy found Jane? The little shit actually found her. Is she OK? Where are they?" Korsak demanded pulling into the parking lot of the second quadruple homicide.

"Don't worry about your Mom. We'll all take care of her. You just get Jane whatever she needs and keep us informed. And Tom, good work man!"

Tommy stood behind a massive oak tree watching Frost and Korsak exit the car. He ran a hand across his sister's fevered brow. He needed to get Jane somewhere safe. She needed time to let the drug clear her system. He had seen enough heroin addicts in prison to know his sister was locked in a private hell inside her own body.

He had no way of knowing how much she had been injected with, or how pure the mixture. When he found her she was walking through a snow drift with a pink flamingo and Rondo. For the moment, she was in a fitful slumber. He watched her hands and legs twitch and flail. He pressed a soothing hand to her brown and crooned nonsense words of comfort. There was only one person he could trust to look after her and keep her safe. If her Captain found out about the drug, he would send her through a detox program to make sure she was clean and fit to return to work. The Rizzoli's preferred to work through their own demons on their own, no clinics or shrinks.

"Listen Jane, we gotta get out of here. This place will be crawling with crime scene techs and a shit load of cops. I'll keep you safe. I promise." Tommy gently lifted the still sleeping Jane and hurried to Frankie's truck hidden behind the trees.

Inside the convenience store, Frost and Korsak were staring at a 19 year old with most of his brain splattered over the counter and cash register. Frost pressed his hand over his mouth praying his heaving stomach would not betray him inside the store.

"Go on, get some fresh air. Take a look at the bodies in the parking lot." Korsak was fighting his own battle of the queasies. Must have been that greasy sausage and biscuit he had for breakfast. He waited until Frost was gone and made his way to the unisex bathroom. His foot hit something round almost sending him crashing face first into the open door.

"It can't be…." He regained his balance and stood looking at the object now lying against the wall. "Frost, get in here. I found something!"

"More blood and guts." Frost griped rushing past the counter. "All I got are two dead white males with huge holes in their heads." He saw the pen and dropped to his haunches. "That looks like Doctor Isles Mont Blanc. She never leaves that pen. Her Mother gave it to her when she graduated Medical school. "

"So you think they were here too." Korsak muttered. "That car in the parking lot, ten bucks says it's Jane's cruiser."

"No bet. I already verified with the station. Frankie is chomping at the bit to go tearing a piece out of Frank senior's behind. Matthews had to send him out on street patrol. Let's get it over with and check out the other body."

The CSU arrived and began bagging and tagging the evidence. Both Frost and Korsak made sure they knew to check the pen for fingerprints. The pick up and Jane's cruiser were loaded on wreckers and driven back to the station garage for a thorough examination. Impressions were taken of tire prints outside the back door. The bodies of the four victims were loaded in the back of two coroner's vans and sent back to the morgue.

"We're only six miles from the cabin." Frost mused.

"I feel the need for a drive in the country." Korsak fished the keys from his pocket and headed for the car. "Do you think Pa and the little woman will be home?"

"Oh, I hope so." Frost linked his fingers and cracked his knuckles like a Hollywood gangster.

The two lapsed into a companionable silence until the turn off for the cabin came into view. "So you wanna be good cop or bad cop?" Frost chuckled. He knew Korsak wanted a piece of Frank senior.

"You can be good cop. I'm gonna be bad cop. If this piece of crap gives me just half a chance…"

"Speak of the devil himself." Frost pointed to Frank Rizzoli loading the trunk of a Cadillac. "Guess the romantic getaway is over."

"Taking a trip?" Korsak called parking with less than an inch between the bumper of the two cars.

"I got nothing to say to either of you. Go talk to my abusive son!" Frank snarled slamming the trunk closed.

"Frankie did that?"

My money's on Tommy." Korsak chuckled.

"Ungrateful little pup got in my face demanding to know where Janie and her….friend were. I told him to calm down and he slugged me." Frank gestured to his swollen eye.

"Just a father son chat and he took a swing at you. I'm sure you didn't say anything to upset him." Frost offered in his friendliest voice.

"Exactly. He was yelling about Janie being in danger and that I should be helping find her. Jane can take care of herself. I taught all my kids to take care of themselves."

"Yeah you're Father of the Year material. Speaking of Jane, you seen her today?" Korsak barked.

"I'm telling you like I told Angela!" Frank exploded

"Watch it. Korsak doesn't like it when people talk shit about his friends." Frost cautioned softly.

"Friend, huh. You sniffing around my ex-w…"

Korsak pounced ready to pound Rizzoli into dust. "Easy, Partner. We don't need a brawl on your record." Frost stepped between the two men one hand on Korsak's chest and the other on his weapon. He pushed Korsak toward their car and gave Frank a steady gaze. "If you see Jane or Maura, call the station. C'mon, we need to get back to work."

"If I see either of my ungrateful offspring…" Frank clammed up and stomped toward the cabin.

"Nice visit. Next time we'll bring coffee." Korsak chuckled.

"Shut up and drive us out of here." Frost ordered. Matthews was going to have their heads if Frank complained about this little visit.

"If it isn't the Little Bro of my Vanilla. What can I do for you?" Rondo asked with a wide welcoming smile.

"Jane's in trouble. I need your help, but you can't tell anyone." Tommy looked repeatedly up and down the alley.

"Anything for Vanilla!" Rondo vowed. "Anything in this world or the next."


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER FIVE**

**A/N Time to re-visit our favorite Medical Examiner and see how she and the other two hostages are holding up.**

Evan leapt from the van and grasped the youngest blonde in his powerful arms. "Time for you and me to get acq…to know each other."

"Evan!" Buck reprimanded. "Not now. We have to make sure our buyers are pleased with the merchandise we delivered this morning. If all went well I'll need you to be able to work again today."

"You promised I could have her for an hour." Evan pouted, but he dropped the girl onto the ground ignoring her cry of pain.

"Get them settled in and make sure the others are secure." Buck ordered. He clapped a hand on Evan's shoulder and led him toward a two story brick home.

James bounded forward and pulled Lisa to her feet. "I'll get them settled while Adam and Tyler take care of the van."

"Can you handle all three?" Adam teased.

"I don't think you can handle that firecracker." Tyler hooted. "She will bite your Johnson off and wear your balls for earrings."

"Yeah, she's fit and in some kind of shape!" Adam stepped directly in front of Maura and traced his index finger across the tops of her breasts.

"While Bald and Brain Damaged is having his fun with one of the children, I may take a ride on this wild beauty." Tyler declared licking his lips and moving next to his brother and Maura.

"Boys, take the van to the garage and I'll see these ladies are settled in and secure." James snapped holding his hand out and motioning for Maura to start walking toward a barn in the distance.

"I'll bet a hundred bucks you can't even get a hard on!" Adam chuckled.

"I'll bet a hundred he can't even find his dick." Tyler countered.

"I'll bet a hundred bucks there isn't a working brain cell between the two of you!" James snapped and held out a hand to Gloria. "Let's get you three in the barn and away from the animals."

"Why are you doing this?" Lisa squeaked her arm held in a vise grip by James.

"Just keep quiet and everything will be OK."

"You killed our friends and took us hostage and you expect us to trust you?" Gloria found her voice and demanded rounding on James her eyes flashing fire.

"Shut up and move into the barn." James hissed. He glanced over his shoulder relaxing once he saw the others were nowhere in sight. "You have no idea what kind of hell you stand in right now. But," He held his finger up in warning to remain quiet. "you will survive if you listen to me and do exactly as I say."

Maura watched and listened making sure to keep her emotions under tight control. She took in every detail of their surroundings. She noted the name and number on the red metal mailbox in the shape of a tractor. She saw the petite blonde come out of the house and throw her arms around the leader, Buck. She noted the wooden sign next to the door bearing the names Buck and Loretta Savage. A totally apt name from where she stood.

"Inside." James barked standing at the barn door waiting for Maura to catch up to the other two women.

"Are you going to rape us?" Gloria demanded standing hands on her hips her trembling chin challenging James.

"Drop the bravado little girl." James snarled. His entire operation was going to hell in a tornado. He had to make a move and quickly. Damn Buck and his greed. No way could he ensure the safety of six innocent women. The two young ones couldn't be trusted, but the Detective would know what had to be done.

"In here, you two. Sit on the floor and keep quiet. If Evan comes looking for you, tuck yourselves in a corner and stay quiet!" He opened a metal door and shoved first Lisa then Gloria inside. "His hearing is bat like, but his eyes are going. Still and quiet in a darkened corner and you may live through this mess."

James pushed Maura ahead of him through the length of the barn. At double metal doors, he stopped and in a sudden move dropped behind Maura placing one arm around her waist and the other over her mouth. He pushed her against the cold metal and removed his arm from her waist. After a quick pat down, he turned her back to face him still keeping his hand over her mouth. "If you are who and what I think you are, this will make sense to you. If not, I've made a fatal error and may have cost us all our lives. The woman with you, was she police?"

Maura stared at him her brain struggling to make the leap from prisoner to confidante. She opened her mouth to speak but found no sound. She swallowed and tried again. "Yes. Did he kill her?"

"Good." James drew in a ragged breath. Even if this one wasn't a cop, she was friendly with cops. "I need you to pay attention to what I'm going to tell you. Follow my instructions and you will be saving at least six lives as well as your own."

"Is she dead?" Maura demanded taking a step toward James. She had to know about Jane.

"No, just on a bad trip. In a few days she'll be fine. No more questions." He snapped when he saw Maura open her mouth to speak again. "We don't have time for this. You need to listen to me and you need to do exactly as I tell you. Now shut the fuck up and listen."

Frankie was waiting when Frost and Korsak returned to the station. "You just missed a call from the head of the Rizzoli clan. He told Matthews you threatened him and he said that Tommy punched him in the face for no reason. I know Tommy has a temper, but he doesn't just go punching people. Especially Pop. He still idolizes the guy."

The two detectives shared an "I told you so" look. Frost looked around the lobby of the police station, giving a nod of greeting to several officers leaving the station. "What did the Captain say?" Korsak demanded. He didn't think Frankie was pulling his chain, but anything was possible. He wished he knew where Tommy had taken Jane.

"Captain told him to come in and file a formal complaint. The old man just got madder and told Matthews that it wouldn't do any good because the entire department would cover it up. Captain told him the PD investigated every single complaint, but he was free to contact the Chief and complain to him. Pop then said a few curse words and insulted Ma before hanging up on Matthews in mid rant. " Frankie said his eyes growing dark with worry. "Any word on Jane?"

"How did you find out all this Kiddo?" Korsak asked impressed.

"My friend Amanda is the Captain's secretary. She called me and gave me the scoop ten seconds after Matthews stormed out of his office on the way to see the Chief. Did you find any sign of Jane or Maura?"

"Come on, let me buy you lunch." Frost invited. Some things needed to be said, but the middle of a busy metropolitan police department was not the place.

"Look, I'm a cop. Just tell me what you know." Frankie planted his feet and looked from Frost to Korsak. His sister was out there somewhere and these two had information.

"Go with Frost, son. You look like you could use a meal. I'll go start the paperwork on this latest blood bath." Korsak pushed the two men toward the door before heading for the elevator.

"Drink."

"Whatchoo drinking Vanilla?" Rondo asked his voice smooth as silk. He wiped her damp brow with the cool cloth.

"Thirsty." Jane croaked. Her throat burned and her eyes were filled with grit. She fought to open them.

On his knees beside the sleeping bag where Jane had spent the past three days in a fevered trip to hell and back, Rondo re-wet the cloth and gently traced her brows and then across her closed lids. He moved back onto a small camp stool and slid a hand under her head and lifted it onto his knees. "Take small sips, Vanilla. You been in another universe a couple days. It's good to have you back and looking almost your usual fabulous self."

Jane allowed the cold water to slide down her throat. She leaned into the solid comfort of Rondo and felt tears scald her still closed lids. Those bastards had drugged her and … Maura. Where was Maura and what had the monsters done to her. She tried to push herself up, but fell heavily back onto the sleeping bag.

"Easy Vanilla. You aint street ready yet. Take it easy and just let your strength come back. Here at Casa Rondo, your wish is my command. I got some amazing broth from the café if you think you can handle it."

At that moment she loved Rondo more than any other person on earth. "Just a little more water please." She swallowed the water and let him help her onto the seat of a second camp stool. "How long have I been here?"

"You been my guest for three days." Rondo set the bottle of water on the floor near Jane. "I know you worried about Caramel. But you gotta get back to you first."

"Caramel? Is that what you call Maura?" Jane tried to laugh and succeeded in producing a rusty chuckle.

"She's salty, sweet and rich." Rondo explained with a twinkle in his dark eyes.

"I think I like that. Maybe I will have a little of that broth." Jane settled more comfortably on the camp stool and took a look around the huge packing crate. It was clean and covered in posters of every kind. She chuckled when she saw one advertising the "Fabulous Cuisine of Angela Rizzoli." Once Maura was safe and those five assholes were rotting in jail, she was going to learn about Rondo's past. Hadn't Ma said something about Rondo singing in a club around town?

Rondo opened a thermal bag and withdrew a cup of broth, a spoon and a napkin. He placed the napkin on her thigh, removed the lid and placed the spoon into the rich liquid before helping Jane close trembling fingers around the white container. "At least get a few sips down to help you get strong and vital again."

"Rondo, you are a good friend." Jane leaned forward, careful not to spill the broth and planted a kiss on his grizzled cheek. "I will not forget this, ever."

"Don't make promises so far into the future Vanilla. We don't know what tomorrow brings." He pressed trembling fingers against the spot her lips had touched. "Live today for today. I'll be back in a bit. You stay here and rest." He bowed and left the packing crate.


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER SIX**

**A/N We are going back into the past to learn a little about James. He has an unusual acquaintance, well more than an acquaintance, but much less than a friend. Sometimes, though, it's your frenemies who come through for you in times of crisis.**

James sat at the dinner table his head throbbing and his heart pounding so loud he feared it would tumble from his chest onto his barely touched plate. He made the right decision. Oh God, he had made a colossal mistake! It was going to be OK. No one at the table had any idea what transpired in the barn. They were just waiting for Loretta to leave and then they were going to jump him. When had he gotten so paranoid?

"Are you with us, James?" Buck snapped.

"Yea…yeah, sorry. You were talking about the new buyer." Thank God Loretta had told him about the newest order while Buck calmed Evan down enough to prepare him for the scheduled morning surgery.

"Loretta are you sure the redhead is a good match?" Buck demanded. "We have a lot riding on this order. If Yakimina is pleased, we are set for life. No more dealing with small time buyers. We will be raking in six figure paydays every time."

"I ran the tests twice. This heart, lung surgery is our ticket to the life we deserve. Relax Buck, after this next surgery we can ditch Hicksville and live among our peers!" Loretta left her chair and cradled her husband's face in both hands. "The maid will clean this up in the morning. Let's go to bed. Good night Boys." She nodded at Evan, James, Adam and Tyler. "Evan, get your rest Big Man, we have a very important surgery first thing in the morning."

"Yes, Loretta." Evan mumbled looking down at the floor. He wanted to sneak out to the barn and play with that young tasty blonde.

"Evan, go to bed!" Buck ordered his voice rattling the china in the cherry hutch behind him. "Do not sneak out to that barn. I need you fresh and ready to cut in the morning. This has to be surgical precision. Not one mistake. Do you understand, Evan?" He asked more gently.

Adam and Tyler watched husband and wife go up to bed and Evan clomp to the basement door. "You wanna play some high stakes poker?" Adam asked his brother and James.

"You boys enjoy yourselves, I need my beauty sleep." James excused himself from the table and made his way to the bedroom he shared with the brothers. He closed the door blocking out the sounds from the kitchen. The Savages owned a four bedroom home with a huge bonus room, a full basement and a den. Buck and Loretta shared the master suite upstairs. Evan had the entire basement. He and the brothers were forced to share a small bedroom off the kitchen that had began as a mudroom. Three perfectly unoccupied bedrooms sat empty. Per Loretta, only guests slept in the guest rooms. Employees slept where they were told to sleep. He stripped off his jeans and polo shirt and climbed between the cheap cotton sheets in his Joe Boxer briefs. Instead of tossing and turning he was sound asleep the minute his head hit the pillow. He was getting too old. Mistakes were coming for him, and they were going to be catastrophic.

"You hear about the Fresh Meat taking credit for your jobs?" Adam demanded flopping onto the bottom bunk.

James leaned over the side of the top bunk gauging the truth in this latest news bulletin. The younger Broder brother appeared to be telling the truth. "Someone is impersonating me?"

"That Jewelry store on Madison street, Freshie says he knocked it over all by himself."

"The job I pulled with your brother Tyler?" James smoothed the ends of his curling mustache noting it was time to trim the ends. He refused to twirl the ends like some cartoon villain. He so longed to have a clean shaven face again.

"And that liquor store next to the pawnshop, Dude says he and his Second did that job." Adam swung into a sitting position.

"That was the job that landed me here!" James barked. "Who is this asshole? Where is his cell?"

"Name's some Italian moniker, Rizzolo or some shit. He's cell mates with Old Barney.."

"That damn drunk who ran over a priest in a crosswalk?" James slammed his fist into the wall leaving an angry red mark across his knuckles.

"He did what? Ran over a priest?" Adam left his bunk to pace the small cell. "What are we gonna do? You can't let him take credit for your moves."

"I'll have a conversation with him tomorrow. You still got the in with that bitch in the Warden's office?" James asked formulating his plan. By tomorrow night, Freshie would be firmly in his place and peace would be restored in the cellblock.

"Leave it to me." Adam promised. "Catch some Zzzzz's buddy."

James lay back on his bunk staring at the ceiling. He had been locked up for four months. In that time he had been in solitary five times. Every new asshole claimed credit for the jobs he himself claimed to have pulled. Truth was, he had never pulled a job. He was an undercover FBI agent working his way into a black market organ broker's gang. The real career criminal had been gunned down by James in that liquor store robbery. His section leader had pulled in lots of favors in the Boston PD and gotten James a nice cushy seven year prison term.

"Fucking Fresh Meat. Here comes another night in the hole. Damn these young fuckers!" He flung his arm over his eyes and pretended to sleep. He would sleep the entire time in solitary, same as the other five times. Tonight, he would lie on his bunk and stare at the chipping paint peeling from the ceiling above him. In the bunk below, Adam would soon be snoring. The young fool could sleep through a hurricane. Lucky Bastard.

Somehow he found sleep. Adam woke him for breakfast. "I got it all taken care of for ya. Barney said this kid never stops mouthing. His name is Tommy Rizzoli."

"Mr. Rizzoli and I need to have a very important conversation. Will the guards give us room to have a good talk?"

"I got a couple guys lined up to give you time to sort this Peckerwood out." Adam bragged. "Be in the laundry room right after breakfast."

James followed Adam through the food line and filled his tray. He ate two slices of the greasy bacon and most of the barely scrambled eggs. Had no one in this dump ever heard of dry scrambled eggs? Right after breakfast, he followed Adam to the laundry room. There stood Mr. Tommy Rizzoli, drunk, hit and run driver and liar. At a signal from Adam, two white supremacists attacked two African Americans as they walked down the hall.

"Good morning." Tommy smiled at the new guy stuffing sheets in a dryer.

"You Rizzoli?" James asked too quietly.

Tommy was smart enough to sense danger. "Yes Sir. I'm Tommy Rizzoli. I just got here a couple days ago. You are?"

"The man responsible for all the jobs you are claiming to have pulled." James informed in his most menacing growl. "You are the sorry piece of shit who got drunk at The Dirty Robber and struck a Priest at a crosswalk."

Tommy now stood swaying unsteadily white as the sheets they were washing and drying. "Look, I just wanted to…."

"Get your ass whipped." James snapped stepping closer to Tommy. He forced the younger man against the hot glass of the industrial dryer. "No snot nosed punk is going to take credit for my life's work. Understand, drunk?"

"Mr.…." Tommy began trying to form a sentence that would keep him from a severe beating. Why hadn't he listened to Old Barney and just kept his mouth shut. Maybe they would have left him alone and just let him serve his time in peace.

James drew a steadying breath and slammed his fist into Tommy's stomach. The younger man folded like a camp chair. James grasped Tommy's collar and stood him back up. He sent a right cross into Tommy's chin snapping his head back and sending a spray of blood over them both. Before James could strike again, both men were grasped by guards and forced to the Warden's office. Still, those two powerful punches had accomplished their task.

Two weeks later James cornered Tommy in the cell the younger man shared with Old Barney. "You from Boston?"

"Yeah." Tommy mumbled. "Yes Sir. My Pa is a Plumber, Rizzoli and Sons." Tommy stopped talking and stared at his feet. He had nursed a bruised solar plexus and three stitches in his lower lip after their last conversation.

"You ever hear of someone called Evan The Butcher?" James asked staring at a picture of a beautiful brunette in police uniform.

Tommy saw James looking at the picture of Jane. "That's my oldest, well my only sister. She just made Detective in the Boston PD. My brother Frankie just got on as a uniform."

"Two cops and a would-be Priest killer. Bet Thanksgiving is fun at your house." James chuckled.

"Yeah, my Ma is nuts and Pa is so pissed neither of us wants to follow in his footsteps." He had to stop this nervous babbling, or risk another beating.

James waved at the bottom bunk inviting Tommy to sit. He waited until a trembling Tommy perched on the edge of Barney's bunk his back to the cell door. James leaned close and growled, "You owe me Rizzoli. I spent two nights in the hole and got another three months added to my sentence."

"Just tell me what you want me to do." Tommy said barely audible. He would be lucky to survive this place. Maybe he should go to confession… would Father Martin take his confession? More than anything in the world, he wanted to crawl in Ma's welcoming lap and snuggle into her loving arms. If he survived this hell, he would go straight and narrow. No more drinking. Tommy Rizzoli was going to turn over a new leaf. He would somehow, someday make Jane, Frankie, Ma and Pa proud of him.

"What a mess we got tangled into this time Big Sister." Tommy whispered using the wet cloth to remove beads of perspiration from Jane's forehead. "I promise you, I got folks looking everywhere for Maura. We will turn this whole state upside down to find her. I'll bring her back safe for you."

**If you like what you're reading, I'd love to hear about it. Hey, even if you don't like it, let me know. I appreciate the feedback.**


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

**A/N A guest reviewer asked if Tommy was just remembering or if he was still in jail. I apologize for the confusion. Tommy is not in jail and he wasn't remembering, at least not at the end of last chapter. Those were James' memories of his history with Tommy. In this chapter, we see Tommy's view of their shared history and we learn how Tommy came to find Jane. Oh, and thank you all for reading and to those of you taking time to review, I appreciate the feedback and encouragement. It cranks up the creative juices.**

Jane mumbled in her sleep, her arms and legs thrashing less with every passing hour. By the morning, all the heroin should be out of her system. He would be forever in Rondo's debt. Tommy ran a hand through his hair thinking he needed a trim soon. He was also in another man's debt, and now that debt had grown many times larger than the size of the national debt. James had saved his ass in prison and now he had saved the live of Tommy's only sister. How did one repay such a massive debt. He let his head drop back against the wall and his thoughts fall into another lifetime.

"I know kicking your ass seemed like anything but protecting you." James spoke barely above a whisper his face as close as a lover's to the other man.

"Look Dude, I'm really sorry about saying I did those jobs. I was just trying to build street cred and keep guys like you from pounding me." Tommy hated the fact that not only was his voice shaking, but every cell in his body was trembling. Why did he have to stand so close? Why was his voice so fucking menacing?

"Relax Freshie. No lesson, well no physical lesson today. But you are going to learn a great many things. Number one is that this is my block." James followed this with a toothy smile and stepped back a pace. "Number two is that you are my number one mule."

Mule? The creep expected him t drug mule! No way was he swallowing dope or sticking it up his ass. He would rather take a hundred beat downs. "Look, I acknowledge that you run the block. No problem, but…"

James grasped Tommy's chin and lifted it until their eyes locked. His blazed with a fanatical flame while Tommy's screamed fear of the unknown. "You will take one envelope each morning and give it to the guard on duty in the laundry. You will not open these envelopes. You will not allow any curiosity whatsoever to rise about me, the guards, my second-in-command or the envelopes. As long as you do as you are told, you will have an uneventful stay here." James deepened his hold causing tears to spring into Tommy's eyes. "If you fuck with me, you will pray for me or any of these fine gentlemen to end your life. Understand, Freshie?"

"So, I take hush…Got it. No curiosity. I deliver envelopes and that is all." Tommy tried to nod understanding, but couldn't move his head.

"That's it my new best friend. You may survive this little stay after all. Welcome to my block." James released his chin and clapped him on the shoulder. "Meet me in front of my cell after breakfast in the morning."

"Yes, Sir." Tommy agreed in a rush.

"Relax. Breathe. Don't get all tensed up like that. I can help you if you want." James slipped a hand inside his pocket and pulled out a small red balloon. "First one is on the house." He held the balloon in his hand directly in front of Tommy's face.

Tommy raised his hands as if to fend off the small red circle of rubber. "No thanks, Man. I gotta get my shit together not jack it up more. I'll be there in the morning though."

"You change your mind, just say the word. The price is reduced for employees." James flashed a predatory smile that a shark would be proud of and left the small cell.

Tommy woke with his heart pounding. He hadn't thought of James since getting out of prison. He searched his memory confused. James should still be on lock down. He was serving a seven year stretch and should have three more before getting out. Did he make parole?

He allowed his gaze to drift down to his sleeping sister. Her chest rose and fell in a normal peaceful rhythm. Why had James injected Jane with his poison and even more amazing, why had he called Tommy to tell him where to find Jane? He let his mind drift back three days…

"Remember me Freshie?" James greeted.

"James Myers?" Why was a convicted criminal calling him from prison? Did James expect him to be a mule again?

"I don't have time to explain, so don't ask stupid questions and waste precious time. Get your ass out to Youngers Market. Get there fast. Your sister needs you. Good to hear your voice again Freshie. Maybe you can buy me a beer sometime once the dust settles."

Tommy stared at the buzzing phone in his hand. What had just happened? Why was Jane at Younger's Market? What had happened to her? He dialed Ma's number knowing she would know exactly where he could find Frankie.

"Hi Baby, are you hungry?" Angela greeted her youngest son. "Come down to the café. Me, you and Frankie can all have lunch together. I made fresh lasagna."

"I'm always hungry especially for homemade lasagna, but I need to talk to Frankie about a possible job. You seen him?" He hated lying to her but, no way was he telling their Mother that Jane was in trouble. She would blame him and so would Frankie. James' call had given him a chance to be the hero for once. He wasn't going to blow it.

"He's upstairs with Detective Frost." More than anything, she wanted her youngest to find a good job and grow into the man she knew he would become. God was really testing her by putting so many obstacles in his path. Like every Mother, she wanted to fight the battles and demons for him. Allowing him to grow and mature was the hardest thing she would ever do, but she would watch and support him and together the Rizzoli family would succeed. That bastard Frank could roast in the fifth ring of hell with his child bride!

"Hey Ma," Tommy suggested, "Maybe we can all have dinner tonight instead. Even if you serve leftovers, it will be better than a five star dive."

"It's a date. See you tonight Babe."

Frankie had been hesitant to tell him anything, but finally relented and told him that no one had heard from Jane or Maura since very early this morning. It had taken all his nerve to lie to his brother. He had said something lame about friends of his seeing Maura and Jane go into a diner a few miles from the cabins where his Dad was holed up. It sounded plausible because it was the only place to eat until you returned to the outskirts of the city. Frankie had agreed to loan Tommy his truck provided he returned it with a full tank of gas and a wash.

He had left the police station and driven straight to Youngers Market. Jane's body had been lying on the pavement deathly still. In fact he had first thought her dead when he screeched to a stop and jumped from the truck. Thankfully her pulse was mostly steady and she was almost breathing normally, just a little slowly. At his touch, she opened her eyes and gave him a vague smile. "Pa, I knew it was all a lie. You didn't desert us. Do you want a cup of tea? My Little Pony will let you sit in the seat of honor."

"Thanks all the same, but we gotta get out of here. Frost and Korsak will be here soon. No way do they need to see you in this condition. Hang in there Janie. Everything will be OK. You're going to spend a few days with a really good friend." He had cornered Rondo at the café and enlisted his help. Nowhere in the city was as safe as Rondo's place.

He had spread a blanket in the pristine bed of Frankie's truck and gently lay Jane on it. He covered her with another blanket and pulled the tarp he had purchased over the entire bed. Once the tarp was secure, he had driven the truck a safe distance from the market to wait for the arrival of Frost and Korsak. Tommy had said a prayer of thanks when Frankie had been assigned to another task. Once he saw them pull into the lot and stop, he called Frost and let him know Jane was safe.

Tommy pulled a protein bar from his jacket and tore off most of the wrapper. He took a large bite wishing it was his Mother's home cooking. None of his friends, or anyone in Angela's Guardians had any idea where Maura was being held, or even if she was still alive. Four days with James and whatever crew he had hooked up with since leaving prison could prove fatal. For Jane's sake he hoped Maura was OK.

"Can I have a bite?" Jane asked her voice more gravelly than usual.

"I got one for you too." He grinned and tossed her a smaller version of the protein bar he held. "How you feeling?"

Jane levered onto her elbow and slowly unwrapped the chocolate bar. She took a bite savoring the flavor as much as the feel of solid food. She appreciated the broth Rondo and Tommy fed her, but she was desperate to eat real people food again. "I'd be much better if I knew where Maura was and that she was safe."

"We got the city covered, but no word yet." He held out his hand to stop her. "I know. Four days is a long time to be held hostage. Once Rondo gets back, I'll go out and look again."

"I'm coming with you. " Jane said ignoring his look of horror. She tried to stand but fell back with a thump.

"Look, you need to let your strength come back. Stay here and be safe. I'll keep you posted. Still got your cell?" Tommy asked placing his hands on her shoulders to keep her down.

"Tommy, that's it! Call Frost and tell him to trace Maura's cell phone! Please, Tommy do it. Do it now!" Jane urged her face a heart tugging plea.

"I'll call once I'm away from here. I don't want anyone intruding on Rondo. I promise I'll call. You just rest OK." He kissed the top of her head and left the crate.

"Please Maura, be safe. Oh God if anything has happened to her!" Tears began to race down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry Maura. I'm so very sorry."

**A/N So that brings us.. Back to Maura. Where indeed is she? Let's find out, shall we?**


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

**A/N Time to catch up with Maura and the other hostages being held by Savage and his gang. I'm sure more than a few of you are wondering why Frost and Korsak haven't ridden to the rescue since the crew didn't confiscate the hostages phones. **

Maura stared open mouthed at James as his strange rambling tail continued to unfold. James had met Tommy Rizzoli in prison. He was an undercover FBI agent trying to infiltrate and stop a black market organ ring. He was also addicted to heroin and one strike away from being kicked out of the FBI. This was his last chance to prove he could still get the job done.

"You changed the paralytic with a dose of heroin?" Maura squeaked. If Jane had been injected with the paralytic, she would have been fine in a few hours. It would take days for the heroin to work out of her system and then she might have cravings or other side effects for days, weeks or longer.

"Don't look at me like that. Believe me, I would rather have saved the H for myself. It wasn't just a paralytic. It was basically a lethal combination. The state uses a similar cocktail, but in three separate syringes. This is some crazy concoction Loretta, Buck's wife mixed up. She used to be a surgical nurse in some fancy new York hospital. We don't have time to fill in every blank. Some are going to have to be left blank. If we both survive this, I may be able to answer all your questions later." James moved to the wall and opened a small metal door. He punched in a five digit code then closed the door again.

"Do you have support staff in the area?" Maura asked watching him open the barn door.

James threw her a desperate look and clenched his hands into fists. "You have to get the fuck out of here right now. This is a map of the area." He passed Maura a small square of paper marked with cramped writing and various zigzagging lines. "Run all damn night. I have marked several safe places to hide in the day hours. Once you get inside, stay there. Only start to move again when it's full dark. I wish I could give you a light, but you need to be as invisible as possible. Move slowly and carefully. There's almost a full moon tonight, it should help you almost get to the main road. Once you get to the road, stay in the trees. Do not go out of the trees. Buck has lots of people watching the property. If anyone finds you and brings you back here, we are both dead. Do you understand?"

Her entire world was spinning in a backwards race at the speed of light. He was expecting her to go out into the dark and make her way through the forest alone to the main road. Once there, she was supposed to stay in the tree line and make her way back to town without being seen by anyone working for Savage. She opened her mouth to speak and closed it, then tried again. "Why did no one confiscate our cell phones? The police can track us. In fact, they are probably just a few miles away." Maura clutched the map to her breast feeling it was the key to finding the Holy Grail.

"Darlin' do you seriously think Buck would leave you any means of rescue? You could have a hundred cell phones and it wouldn't bring the Boston PD or anyone else here. Adam was a cell mate of mine. He got a few years for hacking into the FBI database. He may look like a basically harmless pervert, but he has computer skills every branch of our Government would love working for it. He has a net so tight around this place, no signal gets in or out unless he gives it special permission."

Maura let this news sink in and felt her heart race even faster. She was on her own and Jane was…. Somewhere suffering the effects of a massive dose of heroin. "So you have no way of contacting your team." James was out here on his own, this thought scared her even more than knowing she was alone and expected to rescue herself.

"We are all on our own." He said seeming to read her thoughts "Once you get to the city, call this number and tell them "the horse is ready to leave the farm." James carefully opened the barn door and ushered Maura outside.

"What about the others? What will happen to them?" Maura wanted to take them with her. She was on the verge of voicing this when he held up his hand for quiet.

"Shut up!" James hissed forcing her against the barn and moving in front of her.

"I can't, we can't leave them here to be butchered." Maura hissed once he began walking away from her and toward the house.

"Listen, I have to go in that nest of vipers and pretend everything is normal. Loretta will have dinner on the table. I have to eat it and make conversation with these murderers. You have to get on the move. Time is ticking. Get your ass moving. Now!"

Maura watched him break into a jog and then disappear into the house. She scanned the immediate area then moved slowly from the barn looking for anyone who might be patrolling the grounds. Her conscience screamed to open the door and take the others with her. She had her hand almost on the door, then remembered the small door James had opened. It was obviously an alarm system that he had disarmed and then set to re-arm. She had no choice but to run.

After an hour she was soaked with perspiration and scratched on every unprotected surface of her person. Branches and other forest inhabitants had taken a piece of her as she raced into the darkened woods. She had taken a long minute to look at the map before leaving the dim light of the barn. Now she was in almost total darkness guided only by the moon. If she had committed the map to memory correctly, the first shelter was a few feet ahead on the left. She was beginning to tire, but she felt the urge to keep running. The more ground she covered tonight, the closer she was to safety and finding out what happened to Jane. Thoughts of Jane kept her feet moving in a forward direction. After another two hours of solid running, she was quickly slipping into exhaustion. She had to keep running a few more minutes to get to the next safe destination on the map.

Tears of joy streamed down her face as she slowed to a walk and moved into the mouth of the small cave. She intended to sleep only a few minutes then resume her run. The sooner she made it to safety, the sooner she could apologize to Jane.

Korsak passed the file to Frost and dropped heavily into his chair. He stroked his goatee and glared at the younger detective. "Why haven't you and that infernal computer you love so much found Dr. Isles?"

"Don't you think I'm trying?" Frost opened the file and read the first page. "Is the captain OK with this?"

"If you were him, would you be happy to learn Feds were playing in your sandbox without asking permission? They didn't ask, inform, or even give notice as a professional consideration. These Jagoffs have been running an off the grid OP here in our backyard for five months now and we didn't have a fucking clue."

"Dr. Isles must be in a heavily wooded area where the signal can't reach or she's in deep shit and the signals are being blocked."

"You think the organ peddlers the Feds are chasing are blocking the signal?"

"If I can get Frankie to help me, I might be able to mark the areas where the signals are unable to penetrate. At least that might give us a place to start a search."

Korsak heard the excitement and hope in the younger man's tone. He was feeling a bit optimistic himself. "You get busy, I'll go get Boy Wonder and bring him in to help."

In less than fifteen minutes Korsak was marking red X's and green checks on a map of the areas surrounding Youngers Market.

Maura woke with a raging thirst and a cramp in her right calf. She sat up gingerly and massaged the knotted Gastrocnemius. After a few minutes her well defined runners muscle relaxed and she was able to stand. She gave her left a few soothing rubs and stepped to the mouth of the shallow cave. The sun was barely above the horizon. She had slept all day. So much for making any progress in the daylight.

With care she made her way from the cave to the small running stream. James had thoughtfully marked the stream on the map as well as some plant life she could use as food. She drank greedily, but decided to pass on the greens. Not that she didn't trust James, but she wanted to get back on the path to rescue and she didn't want to run the risk of needing to find an outdoor bathroom.

Fifteen minutes after getting back on the path, she thought she heard a motor. Maura picked up the pace and noticed a small two lane road. This was it! Civilization. Safety. Soon she would be back in Boston and they could be…..

What if the heroin had caused Jane to stumble into traffic? Anything could have happened to her while in the grip of the drug. She had to get to the road and take the chance on flagging down a passing motorist. Not knowing what happened to Jane was driving her crazy. She started remembering cases of people on a heroin trip who had died in horrific accidents.

People thought they could fly, and jumped off roofs or out of skyscraper windows. They felt invincible and thought their bodies could repel bullets only to be shot dead. They felt invisible and stepped into the path of oncoming vehicles. She had to find out what happened to Jane.

Maura angled toward the road and felt the solidity of the path give. She felt the ground give a split second before her foot disappeared in a hole in the ground barely a foot width off the path. An involuntary scream tore from her as she fell into an underground cavern.

"We gotta move faster, the Feds are mobilizing." Korsak urged. He had gone to the café to get snacks to hold them until dinner with Mama Rizzoli.

"Do you think they are blocking the signals?" Frankie asked giving Korsak another section to mark as blocked.

"Matthews said they are going in to get one of their own, been working undercover for a spell. Seems those bodies with missing organs are the reason they're here. A big time buyer is in town and they wanna catch him red-handed."

"This entire area is blocked." Frankie marked the map. "Over a hundred acres are owned by a man named Buck Savage."

"Mr. and Mrs. Buck and Loretta Savage purchased the property three years ago. Seems they transplanted from Long Island. Mrs. Savage was a nurse…"

Frankie cut Frost off and took over the story. "Seems the Mrs. was a nurse. She was performing what she termed "mercy killings."

Frost took over again. "She killed over twenty people."

"Then why isn't the bitch rotting in prison?" Korsak thundered.

"She rolled over on a surgeon and his team selling organs to people on the transplant list."

"She lost her license to practice as a nurse and was given ten years probation." Frankie read.

"She and hubby bought a nice little farm outside Boston and settled into country life. Now she is a homemaker and hubby runs an organic farm." Frost finished.

"Anyone wanna place a bet on whether the Savages are running their own organ theft ring?" Korsak challenged.

"Forget betting. We gotta get to that farm before the Feds. If Maura is there, they may start shooting first and asking questions after the bodies hit the morgue!" Frankie closed his browser and charged from the room the others hot on his heels.

**A/N Maura is in now in an underground cavern and Jane is being forced to rest and regain her strength. Yeah, I got a couple more tricks up my sleeve before we close this tale. Come on back and see how we resolve all this drama. Of course, drop me a line and let me know what you thought. **


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER NINE**

**A/N We resume the usual story in progress…Maura fell into an underground cavern. Let's see if we can give her a hand and get her back home. A big Thank You to those of you riding this train with me. I appreciate the company. And now, back to the fabulous Dr. Maura Isles.**

Maura landed with a thump that knocked the breath from her lungs, but not on the hard packed earth or various jagged edged boulders. She landed on a two person inflatable Coleman boat. "Unbelievable!" she sputtered digging one of the aluminum oars from her backside. The craft was in perfect condition, well it had been. One of the oars now resembled a U. The other was in pristine condition and the boat was begging her to drag it to the gurgling stream less than a hundred feet from where she lay and paddle out of here as fast as her muscles could propel her. In five hours, at most, she would be safe.

At the mouth of the cavern, she stopped and took a look around the shadowy refuge. In addition to the boat, a sleeping bag, two Coleman lanterns, a camp stove, and a small stool provided a somewhat homey feel. Someone had set up a temporary living quarters. The ten million dollar question was; FBI, or one of Savages' crew?

FBI would detain her asking a zillion questions she couldn't answer. If the hiding place belonged to Savage, she wouldn't have to worry about questions. She was pretty sure they would shoot first and forego asking any questionsr. "Oh my God!" Maura scrambled from the boat limping slightly. The oar wasn't the only thing dented. Her ankle had sustained a slight twist. She could soak it in the cold water of the stream and elevate it on the edge of the boat. However, there would be no compression or rest until she found civilization.

"An M4 and a Remington shotgun." Further evidence of FBI presence, but just as likely belonging to Savage. She stood looking from one weapon to the other a long minute. "If Jane were here, she would grab them both and head for the nearest motorist. She would probably scare them into running off the road and therefore not be any closer to being rescued." Maura squared her shoulders and limped to the rifle and shotgun. Jane wasn't here and she was on her own. She was going to make sure these handsome fellows didn't scare anyone. She thought about hiding them in the cavern, but decided on a more permanent solution.

"I say we take a little swim." With that, she hefted one weapon in each hand and very carefully made her way to the rushing water. She shifted the rifle into the hand holding the shotgun and bent to select a heavy pebble. "Let's see if you are as deep as your reflection suggests." She tossed the pebble into the clear dancing water. It landed with a satisfying thunk and slipped onto the sandy bottom of the streambed. The stream was a good four feet deep here at the mouth of the cavern. It would do nicely. "Most definitely time for a swim Boys."

She transferred the rifle back into her empty hand and raised it above her head. "If you have been used in the service of protecting your country, thank you and I apologize for the damage you are about to sustain. If you have been used for nefarious purposes, this is nothing personal." Maura tossed the heavy weapon as far into the stream as she was able. She then performed a similar ritual with the shotgun.

Beads of perspiration trickled down her face stinging her eyes. "I haven't been exposed to the sun long enough for heat exhaustion to set in. It has to be a reaction to the extreme stress of the situation. Why else would I hold a conversation with a rifle and a shotgun?" She wiped her face on the tail of her jacket and encountered a familiar object.

"My phone!" Thinking she was far enough away to obtain a clear signal, she opened the phone only to close it with a quick snap and an uncharacteristic curse. The signal was obviously being jammed. The only one with something to gain by cutting off the world was Savage. She would have to get in the boat and pray she chose the right direction.

Thinking the occupants of the cavern may have stored other supplies, she returned to the dim interior and went in search of food and something to drink. In a small cooler she found a six pack of sugary sodas and a leftover sandwich. She ignored the pieces of crust from a second sandwich and ravenously pulled her treasure form the wrinkled baggie. "Beggars can not be choosers." She sank onto the stool the peanut butter and grape jelly sandwich in her lap. She pulled the tab on the soda and raised it to her lips. The cool metal stung the unprotected skin of her lips. If only she hadn't been forced to leave her purse behind. She desperately needed her lipstick! The Broder brothers had collected the women's bags and stuffed them into a plastic garbage bag for disposal. She uttered a quick blessing and took a bracing sip followed by a huge bite of the peanut butter and jelly. "Not as good as peanut butter and fluff, but right now, it tastes like a filet mignon!"

Once the sandwich and soda were nestled happily in her stomach, Maura returned to the boat. She could steer perfectly well with one oar, but it would be slow and extremely tiring. After running all night, her reserves were less than ideal for a white water excursion. Still she didn't have a multitude of choices. The longer she hesitated, the greater chance Savage and his men would re-capture her. She owed it to James and the women being held as spare body parts to try.

After a brief tug of war with the boat, she had it at the water's edge and was ready to begin her voyage. She tossed the bent oar into the boat next to the working one. With a tired sigh, she pushed the boat into the water and successfully half leapt half fell into it. Maura righted herself and settled in the center of the boat. True she hadn't rowed since college, but it would come back to her.

She could go upstream and try her luck, or she could go downstream and see what waited there. Instinct told her to go upstream. After an hour of rowing with one good oar, she was drenched in sweat and second guessing her decision to go upstream. She allowed the boat to float on it's own a minute as she searched her inner compass. It had to be the correct direction. Going downstream would only carry her back into Savages clutches.

"Do you need help Miss?" A chuckling male voice called from a short dock less than five feet away.

"Oh my. I. Yes. I'm Maura, Medical Examiner of Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Phone?" She realized she was babbling like an idiot and stopped to gather her scattered wits.

"I recognize you from the paper. You're Paddy Doyle's little girl. What are you doing in that boat?" The man asked his warm brown eyes laughing, but not in an unkind way.

"You know my Fath…Paddy Doyle?" Maura snapped.

"Easy there. I meant no disrespect to you or your Dad. I'm Brian." he held up his hands in a gesture of contrition.

"None taken." Maura drew a calming breath and asked in a more reasonable tone. "Brian, do you have a working phone?"

Instead of answering, he waded into the chilly water and pulled the boat to his dock. "Toss me that line and I'll secure your craft."

"Does that mean you do, or do not have a working phone?" Maura asked tossing him the nylon rope. She watched in mute admiration as he expertly secured the boat to the dock.

Brian chuckled at her seemingly single mindedness. "I do indeed have a working phone. May I call you Maura, or would you prefer Dr. Isles?" He flashed a smile framed by two deep dimples.

She was racing a million laps a second in her mind wondering what to tell him. How much could she trust him? For that matter, could she trust anyone in this part of the state? He could easily work for Savage. The boat and the cavern hideaway could be his. Maura chewed her bottom lip in indecision. She was exhausted, smelled like a farm animal and desperately wanted to lay down and sleep for a year after consuming the entire contents of a grocery store. She had to take a chance. Six people depended on her to save them.

"Maura is fine." She came to a decision. "Brian, I need to get in touch with Detective Vince Korsak or Detective Barry Frost of the Boston Police Department. There are six people in grave danger. They need to contact the FBI and tell them "the horse is ready to leave the barn". Detective Korsak needs to get the SWAT team ready to go in and rescue them. If we don't hurry they will be chopped into little pieces and sold on the black market. Don't just stand there Brian. We gotta move now! Lives are at stake." She gave him a pleading look and made a wobbly leap onto the solid deck. It felt so good to have solid wood under her feet. She felt him reach for her and folded into the welcoming heat of his arms.

"Easy. Maura, slow down. If you're talking about James and the Savage property, help is already on the way. Take a breath and let's get you inside." Brian guided her into the small home being used as FBI headquarters.

"How did you know…"

He clamped his lips against the urge to tell her the entire saga. Were the rumors about the ME and a certain Detective true? One could get lost in the alluring hazel depths of Maura Isles intelligent gaze. He gave himself a hard mental shake. He was starting to sound like one of those racy novels found at the supermarket checkout stands. The ones with heaving bosoms and throbbing manhood's. He risked a peek at a certain bosom. She certainly would make his manhood throb given the right circumstances.

"Are you staring at my breasts?" Maura blurted, her filter completely worn away by exhaustion and the need for nutrition.

Brian turned red and quickly looked away. He had been caught like a naughty school boy peeking at the hot teenager next door. What in the hell was wrong with him? He was a full grown red-blooded man and she was a very attractive woman. If he wanted to look at her breasts, dammit, he would look at her breasts! He flashed his disarming smile and admitted. "I have to say, I was and they are magnificent."

Now it was Maura's turn to blush. He was an extremely handsome man, but she wasn't here for a date. Lives were in her hands and right now she was acting like a hormonal teenager. She chewed her lip a long moment and admitted. "I think I'm seeing someone."

"Just my luck. All the amazing women are taken. Let's get you to that phone and let your people know you are OK." Brian led her through the back door and into the homey kitchen. He pulled out a sturdy wooden chair and guided her down into it. Once she was settled into the chair, he found a glass and poured a tall iced lemonade and even found a few bites of leftover crab salad. "Eat, I'll dial."

Maura grabbed the glass and downed over half in one long satisfying gulp. She then held the plate in one hand and shoveled the delicious treat into her mouth. She couldn't eat fast enough to satisfy her raging hunger. In between bites, she rattled off Korsak's number for Brian.

"I'll leave you to handle your business. If you need me before I return, you can explore or just give a nice loud yell." He gave her a playful wink and left the kitchen.

"Doctor Isles? Is it really you?" Huge teardrops fell onto the empty plate as she registered the familiar raspy voice.

"Maura! Maura, are you OK. Dammit Korsak give me the phone!" Jane demanded.

"I'm OK. Jane, I'm OK. How are you? Jane I'm so sorry." The tears now ran freely down her cheeks.

"Shhh. Forget all that now. Just tell me where you are. Frost and I are coming to get you!"

"I'm." The room began to spin and her head felt full of cotton. Brian had drugged her. Maura fell over onto the table her face barely missing the edge of the plate.

**A/N Maura has jumped from the frying pan seemingly into the fire. Is Brain FBI? Does he work for Savage? Will Jane and company be able to locate Maura? It will probably be Thursday before I am able to post the next chapter. Sorry, but work rules most of the week….. Thanks for reading!**


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER TEN**

**A/N Looks like you guys don't like Maura being in trouble. Who knew tossing a couple guns in a stream would cause a reaction ****J Actually, I just did it to set up a certain situation. It would seem that James isn't the only one with some extra baggage. Thanks for reading and don't unbuckle your seat belt just yet!**

He should have just enough time to get everything done before Maura woke. Drugging her was not his first choice, but he couldn't have Boston PD breathing down his neck. James had been undercover for three long years. It was time to bring him home…If any of him remained. Before arranging a nice long prison sentence for him, James had become addicted to Heroin. Brian had been the seasoned professional and James the innocent. Had he really told the rookie it was OK to try the drugs to see what effect they would have before making a buy? The dumb fuck and taken him at his word and injected pure heroin.

"It does matter!" He snapped to the silently judging boat. "I sent him into this den of vipers. I have to give him a chance to get out and get clean." He kicked the boat and watched it ride the small wave. "It was supposed to be me going undercover on this OP. The Savages were going to be my ticket out of the field and into a nice cushy Pentagon job. Ten years experience running the most clandestine, off the books missions and he had let his dick turn off his brain. While James had been riding his high, Brian had been riding a Senator's wife.

Brian looked to the heavens and said a small prayer before he crossed the point of no return. He held his breath and began loading fifteen small square bricks the color of grocery store paper bags. He took particular care in placing them along both sides of the boat. Each was lifted straight up and gingerly placed straight down. Absolutely no side-to-side movement, or he and the boat would become less than nothing. Three weeks of planning and this was the best he could do. A deadly, harebrained plot.

He would maneuver as close to the Savage home as possible and set his surprise packages at irregular intervals. The first would detonate in two minutes; the final in ten. The last and most powerful, would be placed directly outside the back door of the barn. Once the charges were hot, he would take cover in the pond between the barn and the house. If he was late, or one of the charges went early, all bets were off. He and James would be reminiscing over a beer as Satan poked their asses with his pitchfork.

The entire nine mile trip was made in terrified silence. Brian took shallow breaths and a five year old could have rowed faster with one hand tied behind his back. Sweat dripped off the ridge of his brown and splashed the nearest charge. He whispered a hoarse "Please!" and lifted a shaking hand to wipe his face. He gave a defeated chuckle after looking down and seeing the huge wet spot on his pants leg. It would take a miracle neither of them deserved to get through this alive. But he owed it to James to try.

"Why are you so fucking jumpy today?" Adam asked holding his hands up defensively in front of his face. He had flicked James' ear at least a hundred times in the past and never gotten so much as a grunt. Yet he was pinned against the wall and James was about two seconds from beating him senseless.

All the air rushed from James' lungs and he seemed to collapse in on himself. "Something isn't right. I can feel it in my blood. The hair is standing up on my neck, and my guts are churning."

"I knew it!" Tyler shouted sauntering into the room. He took one look at his brother and James and pointed a knowing finger at James. "You took a ride on that fancy piece didn't you? Oh yeah, you better be worried. If Savage finds out, he'll castrate you!"

Adam stared deep into James' haunted eyes and shook his head. "This has nothing to do with the women. I feel something off too."

"You two scaredy cats stop sucking each other off and get ready for the delivery. I'm technical support. No way am I going to carry body parts in a fucking cooler like some alien six pack."

"It always seems cooler when they do it on TV. Hearts are gross and livers just make me want to puke. Still, all those zeros at the end of my bank balance make even the ugliest kidney a beautiful thing to behold." He dropped his hands and moved carefully around James. "He's right, we gotta get a move on if we don't want to be late."

James took one step away from the wall before finding himself airborne. The concussion of the blast shredded his eardrums and sent him flying through the kitchen window. His last conscious thought was that Brian would never know what happened to him. Wait a minute! Brian was outside. He had given the signal. The call of a crow! Everything was going to be OK. Brian was here and he was going home.

"We're under attack!" Buck yelled entering the room in time to see James land on the side lawn with his neck barely attached at the throat. The window had broken leaving a vicious sword of glass now painted bright red from James' almost beheading.

"What the fuck?" Loretta screamed seeing bits of skin and fragments of bone strewn about the room. The bloody off-white bits had once been part of Adam and Tyler. A wet splat landed on her shoulder. "Buck!" She shrieked before fainting. A bloody tooth had fallen form the ceiling and now lay on her shoulder like a cruel polka-dot.

Evan lumbered into the room his prized cleaver held at the ready. "Boss, what's going on?"

"Stay here. We are under fire." Buck strode to the den and flung open the gun cabinet. "I'll teach these fuckers to attack my home!" He chose a Colt AR-15 and a looped an ammo belt over his shoulder. This was the United States of America. Some dumb shit couldn't just walk up and start blowing up private property and killing ones employees! "When I find this turd I am going to ass fuck him with the barrel of this rifle and then I'm going to shoot his brains out through his eyeballs!

But first he had to find the attacker.

Brian felt the concussion of the first blast and began counting in his head. He had to last to the count of one hundred. Once he cleared that mark, all the charges would have detonated and the occupants of the house should be dead or so severely disoriented a child could take them into custody. He prayed his air supply would last. He clenched the Rebreather between his teeth and offered a prayer for help.

Blackness threatened to envelope him. Somehow, he had gotten distracted and lost count. He had no way of knowing how long he had been under. Dead silence greeted him when he broke the surface of the pond. Leaden legs carried him toward the mostly destroyed home.

"No!" He cried when he saw James' broken body. Brian dropped to his knees and pulled the lifeless man into his arms. "I'm so sorry, James. I thought the plan would work. I'm so sorry." He held the body tightly and began rocking back and forth.

"Jane, Korsak!" Frost yelled excitedly. He was bouncing on the balls of his feet. "We got her! We know where to find Dr. Isles."

"Then stop dancing and let's go get her." Jane snapped striding past the grinning Frost.

"Jane, wait a minute." Korsak cautioned.

"What?" she barked. Maura was out there and they wanted congratulations?

"Jane, we can't go barging in there. We have no way of knowing who has Dr. Isles. We could get her killed." Normally Korsak would use tact and logic, but Jane was keyed so tight he expected her ponytail to start whipping around and fly her out to find Maura.

Jane stopped mid-stride and turned to glare at her ex-partner. She knew it wasn't his fault, but all this waiting was killing her. If she hadn't been such a bitch to Maura in the parking lot….

"Rizzoli, Vince is right." With an unusual amount of insight, Captain Matthews addressed Jane and sought to get control of the situation. "This isn't your fault. You were taken by those savages too. We will get Dr. Isles back, but we gotta be smart about it. We go busting in like movie cops and we get people killed. Take a seat and let's see what we're dealing with. OK?"

Fifteen agonizing minutes later, Jane and Korsak were in her unmarked tearing toward the small house where the call from Maura had been traced. The SWAT team was on their way to the Savage property. Jane cursed under her breath as the city melted away and the road became a narrow two lane road. They had to hurry, Maura needed her and once again she had let pride and stupidity wound them. One day, Maura was going to stop giving her the chance to make things good again and they would be known in gossip circles as, "those two used to be such great friends until Rizzoli became a major bitch and ruined it."

"Matthews is right, this isn't your fault. The hell you survived was every bit as traumatic as whatever Maura has suffered." Korsak spoke kindly but firmly.

"You don't know what I said to her." Jane muttered fighting tears.

"It doesn't matter. What does matter is what you say now and every day going forward." He took his right hand off the wheel and gave her shoulder a fatherly squeeze.

"Do me a favor?" Jane begged.

"Name it." Korsak agreed smiling.

"If I start being a royal bitch, shoot me."

"Deal." They broke into companionable laughter and then made the rest of the trip in silence.

Brian dragged himself out of the pond and crawled across the grass toward the house. The front door was relatively unscathed. He struggled to his feet and squared his shoulders. Once he was standing directly in front of the house, he marshaled his strength and called out in his most commanding voice. "Buck and Loretta Savage. This is Brian Banks with the FBI. Throw down your weapons and step outside your hands clasped behind your heads. You are both under arrest for multiple counts of kidnapping and murder."

"The Fucking Bureau of Idiots." Buck spat coming up behind Brian. Was this a lone wolf trying to take down an entire heard of cattle?

"Drop your weapon and lace your hands behind your head." A semi-automatic pistol against the firepower of an automatic rifle. Guess who had greater firepower?

"Am I supposed to be afraid of that child's gun? Where did you get it anyway, a box of cereal? Tell me, Mr. Not-so-super-agent, doesn't the FBI give it's drones decent weapons?" Buck caressed the safety and pressed it gently.

"I supposed a child's toy destroyed your fancy house then." Brian stepped closer hoping his bravado would carry the day.

"I don't have time to stand around playing Who's is bigger. I got a very important meeting to attend. So I guess I'll just kill you and be on my way." Buck snarled and squeezed the trigger.

His ploy worked. Brian forced himself to ignore the bullets ripping into his flesh. He dropped his weapon and clawed at his pocket. With the last of his strength, he dragged the grenade from his pocket, pulled the pin and lobbed it toward the porch where Evan and Loretta now stood. The last thing he heard was the sound of the SWAT leaders voice ordering Buck onto the ground and the screams of the dying man and woman as the grenade exploded.

"I hope this Asshole is as lucky as he is brave."

The entire SWAT team echoed the hope of their leader as they watched two of their members set up central lines and get IV bags flowing as well as applying pressure to half a dozen wounds on James' chest. They could hear the chopper in the distance and prayed for it to land while there was still a chance in hell of saving him.

**A/N And so we draw close to the end of this little tale. We have to get Maura home, or at least find her…OK, get her home and see if James will survive his wounds. As always, thank you for reading. I love to hear what you think, let me know.**


	11. Chapter 11

**CHAPTER ELEVEN**

**A/N Last chapter was a bit bloodthirsty. I'm going to totally go in a different direction, we're going to slow things down a little and let folks have some much needed conversations. Thank you all for reading and dropping a line to tell me what you think. **

"You might wanna slow just a bit, it's the next house on the left." Korsak directed as they shot down the residential street at seventy miles per hour.

"No time to slow down!" Jane barked dragging the wheel hard left and half flying, half tumbling into the gravel drive.

Korsak flung his arms up shielding his face. Gravel pinged so hard against the car he feared it would shatter the cars' glass and shred them to pieces. "I'd really like to live long enough to retire." He barked.

"Then I suggest you stop criticizing my driving and help me rescue Maura!" Jane slammed the car in park, unholstered her Glock and double-timed it to the front door.

On a silent three count, Korsak flung the outer glass door open and gave a hard kick to the solid wooden door. If the door had been locked, he would have found himself on his back wondering what happened as the door was solid oak. "Nice of him to leave it unlocked for us." He whispered and took a step inside.

Jane rushed through the door calling for Maura through every room. There could have been ten armed men waiting to ambush her. Her only thought was saving Maura. "Maura, where are you?"

"In here, Jane." Korsak called from the kitchen. "She's out cold, but breathing steady."

"Oh God, Maura!" All the pent up emotions rushed her. Jane dropped to her knees beside the sleeping figure draped across the table. With a trembling hand she smoothed the honey blonde hair away form the face she knew so well. "I keep putting you in danger. One of these days our luck is going to run out. I can't keep doing this to you, to us."

Korsak had stepped into the living room and called for the paramedics. He went through the house room-by-room, giving Jane time to process her emotions. "All clear." He called from the top of the stairs. The ambulance could be heard in the distance. He made his way back to the kitchen feeling ten years of tension roll off him. This had been a close call.

Jane was still on the floor her hands holding Maura's. She reluctantly allowed the paramedics to transfer Maura to a stretcher and load her into the back of the ambulance. "Go ahead, ride with her. I'll meet you there after I call Frost and Frankie and give them the good news."

Jane threw herself into his arms and buried her face in his chest. "Thank you for always being there." She gave him a tight hug and leapt into the ambulance.

A soft knock woke Maura from the light sleep she had drifted into after giving her statement to the FBI. She had been devastated after hearing that no one had survived in the barn. The charge Brian set had blown the walls in and cut off all avenues of escape.

"Feel like a little company?" Angela Rizzoli asked hopefully.

"I'm always up for a visit from you, Angela." Maura put on a brave smile and opened her arms to receive a welcome embrace.

Angela placed a take-out container on the bedside table and pulled Maura close. "You did everything you could." It was clear to see that Maura was blaming herself for the deaths of the four women in the barn. "If that rogue agent hadn't knocked you out and tried to blow the entire place away, you could have gotten a message to Jane and Korsak and things might have worked out differently. Might have. The important thing is that you are safe."

A shiver of revulsion raced over Maura. "Those Savages were using them for spare parts. Just taking orders and selling kidneys, livers and hearts to the highest bidder."

"Jane told me." Angela bit her lip seeing the look of distress that filled Maura's eyes. "And to think the wife had been a nurse. There are evil people everywhere. We just have to remain grateful that there are wonderful people like you to balance the world."

"Will you do something for me?" Maura asked her voice soft, her gaze on their linked hands.

"Anything, you just name it." She truly loved Maura as much as she loved her own daughter.

"The Agent-In-Charge, said Brian survived his injuries. Will you ask if he will let me visit him?" Maura gave a firm squeeze and finally met the warm gaze of Mama Rizzoli.

"Of course I will. You get some rest. I'll be back to take you home in the morning." Angela promised standing to take her leave. In her opinion, it should be Jane coming to take Maura home, but her daughter wouldn't hear it. Something was really bothering Jane.

"Isn't Jane coming…?" Why hadn't Jane been back? What message was Jane sending by her absence? She had heard from Korsak how broken up Jane seemed when they found her. The nurses had told her Jane stayed at her side until the Doctor made her leave the ER. That had all taken place while Maura had been unconscious from the drugged lemonade. Now that she was conscious again, Jane hadn't called or visited.

"We will all see you in the morning." Angela promised and dropped a kiss on Maura's cheek before leaving.

"Thank you for the soup, and please don't forget to tell Brian I'd like to talk to him." Maura closed her eyes and allowed her mind to drift. She just wanted things to go back to normal.

"I think this is yours." Frost said holding Maura's Mont Blanc pen in his handkerchief so as not to leave fingerprints on the expensive writing instrument. He had replaced Mama Rizzoli as Maura's ride home.

"My graduation present. Thank you for finding it."

"Actually, that appreciation belongs to Korsak." Frost stood shuffling from foot to foot. "Listen, Agent Banks is being transferred to a DC hospital later this morning, so if you want to talk to him, it has to be now. He's heavily sedated, but the nurse says he's in and out and pretty with it sometimes"

"He agreed to see me?" Maura asked breathless. What would she say to him once they were face to face?

"He is eager to talk to you, seems he wants to apologize for slipping you that drugged lemonade."

Maura tossed back the covers and slipped her feet into her slippers. She felt silly spending the night in the hospital, but everyone had insisted. Everyone except Jane. "Let's go." She walked toward the door waiting for Frost to join her.

"I'll be right here if you need me." Frost assured pointing to the wall just outside the room where Brian Banks lay in critical condition. He only hoped the Charge Nurse didn't pay a visit.

"Thank you." Maura faked a confident smile and slipped into the room.

"Y…you ca…came. So sor…sorry for drug…drugging you." Brian stammered floating in a morphine induced haze. He was amazed she agreed to see him. At least he hadn't ruined her life.

Maura pulled a chair close to the bed and looked at his drawn features. She had gotten an update on his condition every hour as the nurses came in to check on her. She knew he had lost his pancreas, one of his lungs had collapsed so he had a chest tube and he had lost several feet of his large intestine. But he had survived the first round of surgeries. If they could prevent infection, he could return to a fairly normal productive life. He was being transferred to Walter Reed Military Hospital for the remainder of his hospitalization.

She drew a shaky breath and asked the question that had been floating in her mind for hours. "Why didn't you call for back up? I know the FBI doesn't like to involve local law enforcement in their operations, but you went in alone. Why?"

"J..James." Was his one word answer. He hadn't saved him. His plan failed and now his partner was dead and his career was so over.

"Were you trying to rescue him, or ?" she couldn't bring herself to ask the question.

"He was m..my part…partner. My fau…fault in that me..mess." Brian drew a painful breath and pressed the button for another hit of soothing Morphine. All he wanted was to swallow his gun. This had been worse than any pooch screw he had ever heard about.

Maura stood and placed her hand over his on the medication pump. "I'm sorry for your loss."

"I'm not an agen…agent anym…anymore." At last the Morphine pulled him into it's healing arms to sleep for a few precious painless moments. He could escape the sight of a dead James as long as the drug cradled him.

Maura pressed his hand again and then fled the room to rejoin Frost. She dabbed her tear bright eyes and asked in a shaky voice. "Why hasn't Jane visited?"

"She's here." Jane stepped out of the shadow of the nurses station and nodded for Frost to disappear.

"Where were you?" Maura asked her voice choked with tears.

"Thinking." Jane led them down the stairs and out to sit on a stone bench overlooking a fountain surrounded by lilies.

"This isn't your fault. We work in a dangerous profession." Maura tried.

"I work in a dangerous profession. It's my job to put my life on the line every single day, but you. Your job is cutting up bodies. You didn't sign on to take bullets, get kidnapped and drugged."

Maura ran her fingers over the back of one of Jane's hands tracing the scar from Hoyt's scalpel. "True, they don't include classes on those subjects in the curriculum, but it goes with the job. Criminals don't want to get caught and they will do whatever they feel necessary to avoid getting caught."

"If you hadn't been going with me to talk to my asshole Father, you wouldn't have been taken." Jane snarled. The thought of Frank packing his new love into his car and just driving off into the sunset made her blood boil.

"Jane, you are my friend. I wanted to be there to support you." Maura traced the scar again. "If I hadn't been so dramatic in the parking lot, you wouldn't have been distracted. This whole mess was my fault."

"I know better than to get angry over a pair of ignorant rednecks. I was transferring my anger for Pop onto you and the rednecks. It wouldn't have mattered if they had been waving rainbow flags and wearing red slippers. My mind wasn't working like a cops'. It was working like a daughter betrayed by the Pop she idolized as a kid."

"That might have been a good look for those guys." Maura teased releasing Jane's hand.

"Maura, you mean the world to me. If anything…" Tears began sliding down her face and her voice broke. "I can't do this. We can't anymore."

"Sshh." Maura stood and pulled Jane to her feet. "No one is forcing us to put labels on ourselves or how we feel about each other. You are the most important person in my life. I want you to know that, but I also know that a knock on my door telling me something had happened to you would kill me as sure as any bullet."

Jane locked her arms behind Maura and pulled her close. She couldn't imagine not seeing Maura, not spending time with Maura. But she understood exactly what Maura just said. If anything happened to take Maura from her, it would be as if she died too. She pressed a soft kiss to the pulse thundering near her lips. "So what do we do?" She whispered fighting tears.

"We live everyday as if it were our last. Right now this is too intense, too raw. We can take it slow. Let it unfold as it will. Give these recent wounds time to scab over and heal." Maura spoke as strongly as she could manage, glad Jane couldn't see her terrified face. Was it worse to lose what they had, or one day lose Jane altogether?

"So, we keep things casual?" Jane asked taking a small step back. She needed to see Maura's eyes. There, the terror she felt. They were in the same emotional storm. Maybe Maura was right, they just needed a little time to heal. A little distance to make things clear. No one was losing anything or anyone. They would still see each other everyday and spend loads of time together. After all, they did work in the same building and Ma did still live in Maura's guesthouse.

"Sounds good to me, but you still owe me dinner Rizzoli!" Maura informed her smile almost reaching her eyes.

"I know this great little restaurant, it's in apartment 12. Seven sound good?" Jane teased.

"Sounds great." Maura agreed this time her smile genuine. They were going to be OK. It would just take some time.

The End!

**A/N So this ends this little tale. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I'll be doing a little research and then I'll be telling my version of how Rondo came to be on the streets. I'd love to see you there!**

**A sincere thank you to those who reviewed! **


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